The Manny
by LobsterLobster
Summary: When juggling personal and professional responsibilities proves overwhelming, this busy single parent decides to hire a nanny to help out at home. What happens when the nanny turns out to be everything they need in matters of the home…and of the heart? (Richonne no ZA AU fluff only!)
1. Chapter 1

The Manny

Prompt: When juggling personal and professional responsibilities proves overwhelming, this busy single parent decides to hire a nanny to help out at home. What happens when the nanny turns out to be everything they need in matters of the home…and of the heart?

A/N: This was written for the Richonne RomCom challenge on Tumblr. Please enjoy!

* * *

Michonne had her hands full. Quite literally. She held a fussy Andre in one arm and a much needed mug of coffee in the other hand.

She had several urgent work emails that she needed to respond to, a small mountain of laundry piled in the hallway along with other housework that had been neglected for too long, and on top of it all, Andre's favorite toy was AWOL. Michonne swore she'd seen it not an hour ago but now that little stuffed duck he loved so much was nowhere to be seen.

Then the doorbell rang.

Michonne set her mug on the table and Andre in his play-pin and went to the door.

 _This better be her_ , Michonne thought in frustration. She had fired her previous nanny over a week ago and the agency was supposed to finally be sending a new girl over.

Michonne opened the door to see a man standing on her front step.

"I'm sorry. I'm not interested. Have a nice day," Michonne said with cool civility and closed the door before he could open his mouth.

She had a lot to do today and she certainly did not have time to listen to spiel about another a tree trimming service, or driveway repaving, or checking for termites.

She was halfway back to her coffee when the doorbell rang again.

 _Persistent, isn't he?_ Michonne sighed and went back to open the door again, determined to get rid of him.

Michonne tried not to sound too impatient, "Yes?"

"Ma'am, my name is Rick Grimes. Alexandria Care Services sent me over," he paused, then, "I'm your new nanny."

Michonne blinked. She looked him up and down. He had brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard. He stood a few inches taller than her and wore dark jeans and a light brown shirt. Upon closer examination, Michonne realized that he was attractive. Damn attractive.

"You're the new…nanny?" she asked, not entirely sure she had heard him correctly.

He looked more suited to being a farmer or a firefighter or something like that.

"Yes," he repeated with a practiced patience, like he got this reaction a lot.

He handed her a paper that turned out to be his certification with the nanny service. The picture matched his face.

"You requested a replacement, right?" he asked.

"Uh, yes. I did. I…I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't expecting…" Michonne trailed off, feeling like every word she said only made things more awkward.

"A man?" Rick supplied, his expression more bemused than offended.

"Honestly, yes," Michonne admitted.

"It's okay, I get that reaction a lot. Pretty much every time, actually," Rick said.

Rick handed her a list of references and explained that his goal for today was simply to meet her and spend a little time with her son, to let everyone get comfortable with each other before, pending Michonne's approval, he started full time the next week.

Michonne invited him in and apologized again for closing the door in his face.

"It's okay, really," Rick said politely.

Michonne picked Andre up, resting him on her hip. The little boy peered up at Rick curiously.

"This is Andre. He turned two last month," Michonne made introductions, "Andre, baby, this is Mr. Grimes. He's going to be looking after you while I'm at work."

"It's nice to meet you, Andre," Rick said with a smile. Michonne admired the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

"Hi!" Andre smiled back.

Michonne laughed, "He makes friends so easily."

Soon the three of them were settled on the living room couch, Andre sitting on Michonne's lap.

"I had to fire the last nanny. She set Andre in front of the TV and was on her phone. All day," Michonne explained, still a little angry about the whole thing.

Rick frowned in dismay, "That's not right. No wonder you wanted someone new."

They talked details for a while; her work schedule, if he could help tidy up the house during the day, Andre's nap times.

Finally, Michonne had to ask, "What made you decide to be a nanny?"

Rick told his story and Michonne was struck by how open and honest he was. He had been a Sherriff's Deputy and never thought of being anything else until one fateful day about five years ago changed everything.

"After my wife died, in those dark days, it was my infant daughter who saved me. Taking care of her, watching her grow, seeing her unconditional love whenever she looked at me, it saved me from the depression. Gave me the will to keep living. After a time I realized I couldn't go back to the force.

I'd always loved police work. Serving the community, fighting for what I believed in, it all came naturally to me. But after everything that happened to my family, that wasn't enough anymore. The constant pressure and stress, it was a lot. That job had strained all of my relationships, distanced me from everyone I cared about, and nearly cost me my life more than once. I had to make a change.

I realized that I was at peace when I was caring for Judith, my daughter. And people kept telling me I had a talent for it, for nurturing children. Who'd have thought? But they were right. I took a couple courses at the community college, signed up with Alexandria Care Services, and haven't looked back."

Listening to him talk, Michonne felt an immediate connection to him that she couldn't quite explain.

Before she could say anything, her phone started buzzing. It was her boss.

"I'm so sorry. I have to take this," Michonne said, feeling torn.

"It's fine, go ahead," Rick assured her.

"Andre, pumpkin, why don't you show Mr. Rick your toys?" she said, setting the restless boy on the carpet.

Michonne stepped into the kitchen where she still had a clear view of Rick, now sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Andre who was happily spilling the contents of this toy chest all over the floor.

Her new job came with some great benefits but there was also an unexpectedly steep learning curve. Despite the stress, Michonne was determined to make it work. And after all, you have to challenge yourself in order to grow.

She just needed a little help.

Michonne, leaning against the counter, hit send on a final email and glanced over to where Andre was playing with his new nanny. Who was a man. She'd never met a male nanny before. Michonne had a good feeling about Rick, but she was still a pragmatic person. She would call a few of his references before giving her okay.

She watched the scene in the living room. Andre toddled across the carpet and held out a plastic apple to Rick.

"Ah, thank you," Rick said.

Andre grinned, loving the attention. He crossed the room again and brought Rick a plastic banana. Then an orange. And a lemon.

"You really are a natural," Michonne said. She liked the easy camaraderie between the two of them.

Rick looked up at her and laughed, his arms full of plastic fruit.

"You were right, he does make friends easily," Rick said.

Soon it was time for Rick to leave. Michonne, with Andre by her side, stood on her front porch and waved goodbye, calling out, "I'll be in touch!" but she was already thinking, 'I'll see you on Monday!'


	2. Chapter 2

The Manny

A/N: Thank you so much for the positive reviews for Chapter 1. This update has been a long time coming, so I hope you like it!

Chapter 2

….

Monday

Michonne came home tired from a stressful but productive day.

"Mommy!" Andre came toddling across the living room towards her with a big grin on his face.

Michonne scooped him up into a hug, kissing his forehead.

"How was he?" she asked the new nanny.

"Good. He was fussy at nap time, though," Rick answered.

Michonne gave him a sympathetic smile, "He's like that for me too, more often than not."

"Well, have a good evening, ma'am," Rick said as he gathered his jacket, then to Andre, "See you tomorrow, buddy!"

When he was gone, Michonne looked around. All of Andre's toys were put away. In the kitchen, the dishes from their rushed breakfast were gone from the sink. In fact, the counters were spotless and there was a hint of lemon freshness in the air.

"Nice," Michonne said to herself. She could get used to this.

* * *

Tuesday

As Michonne was fixing dinner, she noticed a piece of what was obviously Andre's artwork taped to the fridge. There was a crayon drawn house in the midst of some colorful scribbles. In the corner of the paper, written neatly in pen, were Andre's name and the date.

It was a small gesture, sticking a child's drawing on the fridge, but it struck Michonne as very thoughtful. The old nanny had never bothered to do anything of the sort.

* * *

Wednesday

That morning when Michonne was passing Andre off to Rick, he asked if she would be comfortable with him taking Andre for a walk to the neighborhood park. Michonne agreed and showed him where the stroller was kept.

When she got home that night she found a little bunch of wildflowers in a glass on the kitchen table.

"Did you pick these for me?" she asked Andre, lifting him into his high chair.

"Yep!" the little boy answered.

* * *

Thursday

In every office there's that one manager who loves to hold meetings every chance they get. The longer and more unproductive the better, it seemed, and today Michonne got roped into attending. She tapped her pen on her notepad, barely resisting the wholly unprofessional temptation to doodle in the margins as the speaker droned on.

The quiet buzz of her phone was a welcome distraction. She checked it discretely.

There was a new text alert from Rick Grimes. When she opened it there was a video attachment. Michonne checked that her volume was off and tapped play.

Andre's angelic face filled the screen. He was sitting in a bucket swing at the park down the street from their house, smiling like he was having the time of his life.

When the short clip was over, Michonne played it again, smiling to herself. Her little boy always managed to cheer her up.

"Oh, is that your son?" Michonne's nosy coworker leaned over, apparently also not paying much attention to the meeting.

"Yeah," Michonne said.

"He's precious! Look at those cheeks!" the woman gushed.

The manager shot them an annoyed look but thankfully someone else pointed out the time and the meeting was adjourned.

* * *

Friday

At lunch time Rick sent Michonne a picture of Andre wearing his bib, munching on some baby carrots. For a caption he wrote 'TGIF!'

When Michonne got home and Rick passed Andre off to her, she thought back on their first meeting and how hesitant she'd been about having a male nanny. Now she almost couldn't imagine not having Rick around!

"Thank you so much all your help, Rick," she told him.

"Well, that is what you're paying me for," Rick said, looking amused.

"Yes, but. I guess what I'm saying is, you're doing a great job," Michonne said.

"Thanks," Rick's eyes held hers for a long second, "Have a good weekend, you two. I'll see you again on Monday."

* * *

By the end of the second week, Michonne thought maybe she was imagining it, but Andre seemed to be happier than he had been the past few months.

There had been a lot of upheavals in his short life, his father leaving, the move from the city, her scrambling to find childcare. Michonne tried to shelter him from the stress of it all, but sometimes she wondered how everything was affecting him. There had been days that he was petulant and irritable, throwing fits over things that had never bothered him before.

This new nanny was attentive and caring, Michonne thought, and he brought some much needed stability to their lives. Andre was getting back to his naturally cheerful self and Michonne finally felt like she was getting a grip on things. Instead of living in crisis mode, she felt like she could slow down a bit and enjoy life more.

So one week when the beautiful blue eyed nanny invited her and Andre over to his place for a cookout, she didn't hesitate to accept.

* * *

TBC!


	3. Chapter 3

The Manny

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, everyone! Richonners are my favorite people. You know who you are.

Chapter 3

It was a beautiful spring day and the Grimes family backyard had a festive atmosphere. Rick's preteen son Carl and his friends were skateboarding in the driveway. A mix of neighbors and Rick's friends lounged about on folding chairs while a surly looking man in a leather vest stood over the grill, turning out perfectly cooked burgers and hot dogs...and a plate of something that may or may not be squirrel.

Andre and Rick's daughter Judith became instant friends. Judith grabbed the younger boy's hand and took him to play in the sand box, where the two stayed the whole time, digging and building little sand castles only to knock them down with toy cars and plastic dinosaurs and build them again.

Michonne picked a beer out of a cooler and helped herself to a plate of food. She made small talk with the other guests until Rick made his way over to her.

"This is real nice. Thanks for inviting us," Michonne said.

"Of course," Rick smiled.

He looked over at the kids playing together, "You know, I worked so hard building that swing set, but the only thing Judith ever wants to do is play in that sand box."

It was nice to see Rick so relaxed, Michonne thought as she discretely admired the way his brown t-shirt clung to his body.

They found a pair of lounge chairs in the shade. Before long Rick was telling her about a rival nanny network from up north that was trying to expand into Georgia, aggressively advertising everywhere and signing workers away from smaller companies, only to pay them a fraction of what they made before.

"They call themselves 'the saviors of childcare'! It's so…" Rick paused, searching for the right word.

"Pretentious?" Michonne supplied.

"Yes, exactly! Everything I've heard, the way they do things is very heavy handed, going out of their way to crush small companies that aren't even a threat to them. And now they're targeting King County," Rick went on.

"They have the manpower and the money to do whatever they please. I just don't see how we can compete with that," Rick said, shaking his head in frustration.

"Think about it this way," Michonne shifted so she could face him directly, "You don't have to beat them. All you have to do is make it too much trouble for them to get to you. Make things difficult enough and eventually they'll give up and move on to an easier target."

"But how do we do that?" Rick asked.

"There's plenty of things you can try. If their ads are too similar to yours, you can talk about copyright infringement. Or if the workers they lure away had non-compete clauses in their contracts, you can go after them that way. And sometimes a simple cease and desist letter from a lawyer can be enough discouragement," Michonne listed ideas.

"Here," she said, digging in her purse and handing him her card, "Tell your boss to call my office, set up a meeting."

Rick looked at the card thoughtfully, "I'll do that. At the very least, it can't hurt to get some advice."

The conversation turned to lighter topics as Rick told Michonne about all the good local places to visit. Story time at the library for Andre, outdoor movie nights by the lake during summer, a ranked list of the best barbecue places around, and Hershel's Farm and Petting Zoo, to name a few.

That day, and as their friendship grew, Michonne realized that there was a genuine quality about Rick that she found quite refreshing. While so many men tended to boast and pretend that their lives were perfect, Rick had the humility of a man who knew what it was like to suffer but to get back up and live the best life he could.

That summer Rick and Michonne and the kids spent nearly every weekend together, planning outings or simply setting up lounge chairs in the back yard and sipping lemonade while the children played.

* * *

TBC!

A/N: I know this chapter is rather short, but I'm trying to keep the story moving (I tend to get overly ambitious fic ideas and never finish them, trying to avoid that this time around) and also let them start out as friends first.

Preview: There will be a time jump and…some romance! Finally! Who will make the first move?


	4. Chapter 4

The Manny

Chapter 4

As the months and years rushed by, the friendship between the two single parents grew and solidified into something real and precious. Rick and Michonne relied on each other in times of trouble and celebrated life's happy moments together.

Rick was the first one that Michonne called when Andre lost his first tooth. Carl hand delivered Michonne's invitation to his high school graduation. On more than one occasion Rick was on hand to help when Michonne's car broke down on the side of the road before she finally replaced it.

"I can't believe he's starting kindergarten next week. I feel like it was only yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital," Michonne said, lingering on the front porch with Rick.

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Rick agreed wistfully, "I feel like it was only yesterday that you were slamming that door in my face."

"Stop that!" Michonne laughed, smacking him on the arm.

"And I didn't slam it. I closed it. There's a difference," she added.

"Alright, alright," Rick conceded.

Their laughter died down and they were quiet for a moment.

Rick met her eyes, his mood suddenly melancholy.

"I'm really going to miss this. You and Andre," he said softly.

"Hey, it's not like you're saying goodbye forever! We'll still see each other. We'll still be friends, Rick, you know that," Michonne said, not at all sure she liked where this conversation was going.

"I know. But it won't be the same," Rick said.

And he was right. Now that Andre didn't need a nanny, Michonne wouldn't be seeing Rick every morning before work or enjoying these little moments with him when she got back home. He'd become a comfortable fixture in her life and it was going to be hard to let go of that, his help around the house, the emotional support he gave little Andre, the companionship she'd come to treasure.

"This is the worst part of the job," Rick went on, staring out at the street, "Letting go. I watched Andre grow up the past few years. I get so attached…Maybe too attached."

Rick fiddled with the band of his watch; like there was something else he wanted to say but couldn't find the words.

Michonne watched him for a long moment, feeling the words that she wanted to say coalesce and then forcing herself to say them.

"Maybe…you don't have to let go," she said softly.

Rick looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean…would you like to go to dinner sometime? Just the two of us," Michonne asked carefully, wanting him to understand what she was really asking.

Rick's face transformed into a warm smile, "Yes, I'd like that."

Michonne smiled back, a warm feeling in her chest telling her that yes, this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

Rick shifted a little closer to her, his blue eyes so clear in the fading glow of the sun. He lightly ran a hand down her forearm and found her hand.

"To be honest, I'd resigned myself to thinking that you weren't interested," he said.

Michonne let his fingers intertwine with hers.

"Oh, I was interested," Michonne confessed, "I've been interested since that first day you showed up on my doorstep. I just wasn't ready…I was afraid of rushing into anything. See, I've done that in the past and got my heart broken rather badly. I guess this time I wanted to wait."

"But you're ready now?" Rick asked, his eyes tracing her face.

"Yes. Absolutely," Michonne grinned, and Rick leaned in to kiss her, tender and heartfelt.

Michonne closed her eyes and returned the kiss, reaching up to tangle her fingers in the hair at the base of his neck.

"Oh, I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do that," Rick breathed when they broke for air.

Michonne smiled. She pulled him closer and kissed him again.

After a couple weeks of dating, it didn't take them long to decide to move in together. The kids, who already practically considered each other family, were thrilled. And it wasn't long after that for Michonne to start hinting about a ring.

On Christmas morning Andre practically dragged Michonne out of bed and down the hall to the living room. In front of the glittering Christmas tree and the beautifully wrapped presents was Rick, kneeling with a small black box in his hand.

"Michonne," he said, a twinkle in his eye. He opened the box and the ring inside sparkled.

"Yes! Yes!" Michonne practically shrieked in joy, rushing to him and throwing her arms around his neck.

Rick laughed, "Hold on, you gotta at least let me ask the question!"

Michonne pulled back from the hug, tears welling up in her eyes.

Rick began, "Michonne, light of my life, my beautiful angel girl, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Michonne was laughing and crying as she kissed him.

Rick slid the ring onto her finger. Finally, Michonne thought to herself, my family is complete. The rest of the day was a busy, happy blur.

Not wanting to waste any time, they settled on a spring wedding. Judith wore a princess dress and skipped as she tossed flower petals down the aisle. Andre in his little tux was the ring bearer, a job he took very seriously. As the best man, Carl gave a memorable speech at the reception, reveling in the spotlight and cracking many jokes at his dad's expense. Of course he couldn't leave out the story of how Rick and Michonne first met.

"Clearly, it wasn't love at first sight for Michonne!" Carl declared, and everyone burst out laughing.

"But in all seriousness," Carl continued when the crowd quieted down a bit, "Michonne, I am glad you opened that door again and eventually gave my dad a chance. You're amazing and I am truly happy that you're family now."

The newlyweds honeymooned in Mexico. Rick and Michonne savored every moment they had together with no work, no kids, no distractions. When they managed to leave their suite, they spent the days lounging by the crystal clear ocean sipping on margaritas or touring ancient ruins.

Back home, Rick finished up his night classes, got his teaching certification, and became a first grade teacher in time for his step son Andre to be placed in his class.

And they lived happily ever after.

The End!

* * *

A/N: Thanks for supporting this story, everyone! It's been a lot of fun! I was going to end it after their kiss, but considering what day it is, what kind of fanfic writer would I be if I missed this opportunity to add in a Christmas proposal? Happy Holidays!

Also special shout-out to courtgirl26 who recognized my callback to one of Michonne's Season 3 lines last chapter, and to Trista 3 who predicted Michonne would make the first move! (Well, Rick initiated the first kiss but only after Michonne asked him out.) ;)


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